These Years Together
by gorgeousastrolabe
Summary: Emily and her friends have defeated the Voice and the shadows. Now what? Trellis has an idea. Cute Tremily fanfiction, rated T just to be safe. Disclaimer: I don't own Amulet.
1. Will You Be My Queen?

Things were over. But they were far from normal.

That's what Trellis realized as he packed his clothes into his bag mindlessly, not bothering to fold some of his shirts and pants. His mind was elsewhere, on deeper topics that did not include laundry. He was thinking about himself. About Emily. Vigo. Luger. The future. Important things that he hadn't been able to think about until now, since there had always been a big "if" in the way. _If_ he defeated the Voice. _If_ he managed to survive the war. _If_ things turned out the way he wanted them to. And so far, they were.

They had defeated the Voice of course. It had practically been a miracle, and it hadn't been until later, when Trellis had recapped their events to his fellow passengers aboard the _Luna Moth_ , when he realized that it had kind of been a cliche. One of those, 'oh look, the good guys suddenly gain enough power to defeat the bad guy' type of things. It had been a complete coincidence, but it had worked out for them in the end.

Another thing that he realized was that it was time for him to assume the throne as king of the elves. He had dreamt about that when he was younger and more naïve, but lately he had been focused on other things, like defeating the Voice and survival. He had imagined that he would become king and be happy about it, and never have anything bad happen to him, but he now saw the throne in a different light.

His father had died, of course. That had been one of the first things that Trellis had realized once he began recuperating back on the airship. His father and whomever else the Voice had controlled were all dead. He was saddened by the sudden revelation, but then he remembered his scar over his eye and his father's manipulative plans and Trellis' sadness became an icy coldness that was so chilly that it burned like a fire inside of his heart.

Maybe that's why he was so hesitant to take the throne. Every time he thought of his old home in Valcor, the only thing he could think about was the cold, lingering shadow of his ancestor's reign. He knew that their bloody strife had been continuing for generations and generations, and even though his uncle had turned out okay, no one else did.

Trellis picked up a long sleeved shirt and stuffed it into his bag. Would the people realize this? Would the elves realize that a majority of Trellis' ancestors had been terrible rulers and assume that Trellis was heading in their footsteps? He hoped not. A part of him knew that it would make his soon-to-be reign of peace and prosperity more prominent, but the rest of him hoped that no one ever realized that his ancestors hadn't exactly been the most amicable people.

He sighed as he buttoned his bag shut and slung it over one shoulder. There was also another issue that he would have to deal with as well. After the war, the people of Alledia (not the elves, but everyone else) realized that the war had been a terrible mess and that they desperately needed a good leader to help them recover. Trellis was already planning on running the nation of the elves, but the idea of ruling all of Alledia seemed insane. He couldn't do it by himself, at least. And, if he was honest with himself, he didn't really want to. Of course, it wouldn't be his choice if he was elected, but he was definitely not looking forward to it.

There was some hope for him left. He knew that the people of Windsor and Lufen would hate to have an elf on the throne, especially if he was already ruling Gulfen. They would think that he was power hungry, or that he was trying to set everyone up for despair, like the rest of his ancestors. To fuel the fire, the people of Windsor and Lufen didn't trust the elves at all, and Trellis knew that it would be nearly impossible to get them to trust him.

So maybe he wouldn't rule all of Alledia. Maybe he would just stick to Gulfen. That was fine by him, but it also raised the question of who would rule Windsor and Lufen. If not him, then who? He didn't know anyone that was campaigning to become king or queen of the rest of Alledia, and he didn't think that the people of Alledia wanted a mess to cry over. There was also the issue of keeping the peace between Gulfen and the rest of Alledia, and if somebody who hated elves rose to power, there would be war all over again.

It all seemed discouraging to think about. But there was one last option for him. The chances of success were slim, but it was possible. Trellis sighed as he took one last look around his room, and then marched out of the door, his bag thumping against his shoulder with every step. His poker face and his confident walk hid the anxiety and nervousness that swirled in his mind and his heart, and he began to lightly chew on his lower lip, a habit of his. Finally he paused outside of a room, bent his head, took a deep breath, and then knocked.

"Come in!" He heard a short pause later, and Trellis reached down and opened the door, stepping inside and glancing around as he shut the door behind him. Emily's room was as bare as his, although Emily herself wasn't done packing yet. "Oh, hey Trellis." Emily said casually as she folded one of her shirts and placed it neatly in her bag. "What's up?"

He took a deep breath. He was here. The words were on his tongue, but he didn't know how to say them. After a heartbeat, he spoke. "Nothing much, I guess," he said, surprised at how cool and nonchalant he sounded. "How about you?"

Emily gestured to the scattered pile of clothes on her bed. "I would be better if these clothes were packed. My mom is coming to get me at eleven."

Trellis glanced at the clock. Fifteen minutes until eleven. That was just enough time for him to pop the big question, and then say goodbye to everyone. He shrugged to himself, and then strode forward, nudging Emily to the side and grabbing a pair of her pants before folding them.

Emily grinned. "So, do you have any plans after this?" Trellis asked her as he sat her folded pants down inside of her bag.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, it all really depends on if we stay here or not." She grabbed a shirt and began to fold it. "If we do, then my next plan is to settle down in a nice home and to help rebuild Alledia. If we don't, then I'm going to start heading for Kanalis, spend a night or two there, and then head north to Gondoa Mountain."

Ah, that's right. Trellis nearly forgot for a second that she had a completely different life outside of Alledia. She had friend and family on Earth, and he could imagine that she wanted so desperately to get back to whatever normalcy she could. Even if it meant never coming back to Alledia. The idea of that made him more nervous.

"Do you think you might stay here or go back to Earth?" Trellis asked as he picked up a wrinkled shirt and began to smooth it out.

Emily grabbed a pair of socks and turned them inside out. "I don't know about that either. Navin wants to stay here with Ally and become an official pilot. My mother wants us to go back to Earth, although I think that's because she wants to go back to the safety we once had." Emily paused as she put her socks into her bag. Trellis waited patiently as he began to fold her less-wrinkled shirt. "And I don't know about what I want to do," she continued quietly after a minute. "I like it here in Alledia, but I'm afraid that I won't have much to do here once we clean up the effects of the war. I mean, you have a nation to rule, and Vigo is going to end up rebuilding the Council, but there isn't much left for me. I don't have much of a reason to stay."

Trellis took a long, slow breath. This was the part where he was supposed to jump in and say, "Actually, I have a position you might be interest in," but his voice wouldn't work. It was like he was frozen and couldn't do anything about it.

Then Emily laughed awkwardly, realizing that she had exposed too much of herself to be comfortable with. "Sorry. You probably don't care." Then she sighed. "I want to stay here: I really do. But unless something pops up out of the blue and gives me an excuse to stay, I'm hopeless."

Oh my God. She was practically asking him for _an invitation_ to be queen. He tried his voice again, and managed to choke out a few words. "I, um, actually know something..." Good job Trellis, good job.

She glanced up at him, her deep blue eyes catching on his pale slitted ones. "Really? What is it?" There was a note of curiosity in her voice now.

He sucked in a breath. He didn't think he had ever been this nervous before in his life. "Umm, well..." He started, leaning against her bed as he faced her but didn't look her in the eye. "I-I was thinking, and this is totally just a thought, that maybe..."

His voice stuck in his throat. He cleared it, but his voice still wouldn't work. Emily looked up at him, trying to meet his gaze. "What is it?" She asked him softly, and Trellis met her gaze with his own.

His breath caught in his throat. There was something so beautiful about her face. Her deep blue eyes that were so clear that they reminded him of a cloudless day, or fresh mountain air. She seemed so innocent. So young. It was hard for him to remember that she had lost so much in her childhood, and that she had issues with trust and anger. Her eyes were wide with curiosity. And they were so blue that he felt like he could drown in them. Her lips were parted slightly, and he decided that he wanted nothing more than to sit there forever and memorize her face.

"Would you please help me rule Alledia?" His voice was so soft that it sounded like a whisper. He wondered for a moment if she even heard him.

Then she took a step back. Her eyes widened from curiosity to shock. "What do you mean?" There was a tremor in her voice, and Trellis closed his eyes and sighed before opening them again and responding.

"I don't know the details exactly, but I was hoping that maybe I could rule Gulfen, and then you could rule Windsor and Lufen. It's just an idea, really. You don't have to do it." He began to laugh nervously. "I don't even really know why I asked. I mean, you have a lot on your plate. You probably don't want to think about this now-

"Trellis," Emily interrupted. "It's fine. It's just...that's a lot to think about," she said, continuing her sentence with a breathy laugh.

He reached up to rub the back of his head. "You don't have to," he said, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot.

Emily looked away, staring at the wall. She blinked, and then sighed quietly before responding. "Look, Trellis. I don't think I can rule. I don't have the proper training, and I definitely don't think that the people of Alledia want me to be their queen-

"I can teach you," Trellis interjected breathlessly, and then swallowed. "And it won't be too hard to get you into power. If we talked the Resistance into supporting us, we could do it."

Emily winced, and then Trellis realized his mistake. He knew that she hated to rely on others. "Fine," she said, her voice sharper. "And let's say we do end up in power. Then what?"

He sighed with relief internally. Finally, a question he knew the definite answer to! "We will rebuild Alledia. Together," he said, although the last part had been in his head.

Emily sighed. She took deep breaths, inhaling through her nose and exhaling out of her mouth. She shut her eyes. Pinched the bridge of her nose. When she spoke, her voice was strained. "I'll think about it. Give me one week, and I'll think about it."

He nodded eagerly, grateful to see that she was at least considering the option. There was a quiet pause, and then Emily put her hands on her hips and faced him. "I appreciate your help, Trellis, but I think I can handle the rest of my packing."

Trellis nodded, and then gave her a quick, awkward hug. Then her turned and headed out the door, feeling relieved. He sighed once the door closed behind him, and then shook his head to clear it. He then started towards the starboard side of the ship to say the rest of his goodbyes.

 **So what do you guys think so far? I think this might actually be one of my longer, detailed fanfictions. I actually have some good plans for this fanfiction, and I also have a wonderful fanboy friend of mine to help me get those ideas out. Also, just a quick side note: this story is going to start out pretty awkward at first, but then it's going to roll smoothly from there. I also might slip some Navin X Ally (Nally? Alvin? Nalvin?) into this story. Maybe. If I feel like it.**

 **XOXOXO**

 **-Lilith**


	2. Stupid Sibling Arguments

**Sorry I haven't updated in forever! I've been kept up on a lot of things, and I have a lot of other stories I'm trying to continue. But never fear! I shall write this story and (hopefully) I will complete it. It's going to be a bit of a long one.**

 **Thank you to all of the people who left supportive comments on this story. It really means a lot to me! And to the one person who asked how old Emily and Trellis are now, the answer is that their ages are still the same for the most part. Trellis is still about seventeen (ish) and Emily is...thirteen? Fourteen? I don't know. She's grown a lot in this series. Either way, their current age is completely unrelated to the title.**

 **But yeah, thanks for all the support. I definitely plan on continuing this. Now, enough of my rambling. Enjoy!**

 **-Lilith**

Kanalis didn't remind Emily of any city she had ever been to or heard of. She had lived in a city before, but that had been more of a town than a city. Kanalis didn't remind her of any city she had ever heard of on Earth. She didn't want to leave.

Everywhere she looked, she saw robots of some sort. Robots aiding citizens by helping the elderly cross the street and by carrying items, the large robot houses that loomed over everyone's heads, even advertisements for microbots, which couldn't do much now, but eventually could do things like cure cancer and heal broken bones.

Of course, she was used to seeing things like that by now. She had been in Alledia long enough to know that robot citizens were considered normal. But it never really occurred to her that they were everywhere, and in many shapes and sizes. That they could (somehow) have families.

She began to wonder how that was even possible. How could these metal creatures have emotions and desires? How could they want to settle down and have a family? How could they love someone else?

The redhead guessed it wasn't that weird though. After all, if one were to take out the thing that made humans special, the only things left would be bones, blood, muscles, organs, and nerves. But how the people of Alledia figured out how to transfer a human (Soul? Personality?) into a computer was beyond her.

 _God, I hope Earth catches up soon,_ she thought to herself. She sat up, grabbed the bottle of water that was beside her, and took a sip. She was lying on the roof of the hotel her family was currently staying in, the night sky suspended above her. As she set the bottle down and stretched out again, she let her mind wander. She wondered if the stars in Alledia were the same ones on Earth. Probably. Maybe? She didn't know. She wondered how big Alledia really was. There had to be more land than what she saw on the maps, right? But then why did she never hear anything about the world outside of Alledia? Maybe everyone outside of Alledia was dead. Or maybe just really antisocial.

As she stared at the stars, she wondered what Trellis was seeing. Was it past midnight for him? Did Alledia even have time zones? Probably. It still seemed surreal to her that she was looking up at the cloudless night sky while someone else was shielding their eyes from the afternoon sun.

Was Alledia a planet? Or was Alledia a portion of a planet? How long did this planet take to orbit once around the sun? Were Alledian years longer or shorter than Earth years? Is Alledia part of the same galaxy as Earth? The same universe? Probably. But would the humans on Alledia be considered aliens to the humans on Earth? She decided that she would have to ask these questions later.

"Emily?" She heard a voice speak inside of her room. She froze, listening. "Are you in here?" Navin. Of course.

She pushed herself up and over to the window, peering down inside. Sure enough, Navin was cautiously glancing around her bedroom, illuminated by the moonlight that was streaming in from the open window. "I'm here, little dude." She said, and he jumped up in surprise, and then clutched his chest.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack," he accused before taking a step closer. "What are you doing up there?"

She grinned. "Come on up," she invited. "The view is great."

Emily pulled away from the window, sitting with her legs crossed as she watched Navin slowly, cautiously, pull himself up onto the roof. Then he scrambled away from the roof's edge, sitting beside her before taking a deep breath. "You weren't kidding about the view." He said, a little breathless.

"Drink some water if you're thirsty," Emily offered him the bottle. He took it and took a few gulps before handing it back. "So, why aren't you in bed?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you the same question?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Same."

Emily laid down on her back. "I'll tell you why I can't sleep if you tell me why you can't."

"You first."

"No. You're on my roof, remember? I can push you off."

"You wouldn't dare."

"You're right. But I would drag you back into my room and yell for mom."

He sighed, lying down beside her. "Fine. I'll tell you why." He took a deep breath. "I...I don't know what to do about Ally."

"What about her?" Emily asked.

Navin fidgeted beside her. "I'm going to be blunt; I like her. I like her a lot. There are about two people that I want helping me to pilot an airship, and she's one of them."

"Who's the other?"

"Cogsley."

"Ah. Makes sense. So you like her. Did you tell her that?"

Navin shut his eyes, his face pinching up. "No. I was going to, but I never found the right time for it."

Emily paused, thinking. Then she began to speak. "Allow me to give you some sisterly advice. You know how people say that there is a time and a place for everything?"

"Yeah?"

"This is it. I think she likes you, Navin. And unless you get the guts to tell her how you feel, we're going to end up back on Earth, and you're never going to see her again. You're never going to tell her how you feel, and she's never going to know how you really felt. And eventually she's going to move on. Do you want that to happen.

"Well, no, but how am I supposed to-"

"Just go for it. She's going to be here in a day to send us off, right? Just tell her. Don't wait. Just spit it out and tell her that you like her."

Navin sighed deeply. "Thanks, Emily. I needed that."

"No problem."

He shifted, facing her. She looked back at him. "So, what's your issue?"

She smirked. "I'm afraid it's a lot bigger than your love life, little brother."

"Don't patronize me."

"I'm not trying to."

He raised an eyebrow at her, and she turned away, closing her eyes. "Trellis asked me to be queen of Alledia."

There was a pause. After a few beats, she opened her eyes, turning to find that Navin was choking on his own spit. "Woah, Navin, don't die on me," she said as she pushed him up into sitting position, thumping on his back. He coughed, and then whirled around to face her, his eyes wild.

"He asked you to marry him?!" He asked, his voice squeaky and distraught.

She recoiled at the question. "What? No! I never said anything about marriage!"

"You just said that he proposed to you!"

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "No, I said that he asked me to be queen of Alledia. There's a difference."

"No there isn't!"

"Sure there is. For example, no one is getting married!" She snapped, and he calmed down, taking deep breaths.

She folded her arms across her chest as she waited for him to finally chill. After about fifteen seconds, he spoke. "Why did he ask you to be a freaking queen?"

"I dunno," she said with a shrug. "I mean, I have a few theories, but other than that, I've got nothing."

"Theories?"

"Yeah. Like he wants Alledia to be united and the best way to do that is to rule along side of someone who shares the same goals."

"That can be anyone."

"Okay yeah but anyone can lie and pretend. He doesn't know how someone really feels about a topic. He's just trying to play it safe."

Navin laid back down beside Emily. "Doesn't he have any friends?"

"You're forgetting that he's a prince, so he probably doesn't have many."

Her brother was silent for a few minutes. "I don't like it," he said after he thought things through.

"I know you don't. It seems sudden and unrealistic, right?" She guessed. He nodded. "But he has a point. He wants someone that he can trust and who wants to help reunite Alledia."

"Emily, you _don't_ trust him, remember? He kidnapped mom!"

She sighed. "He was confused."

"That's a pathetic excuse and you know it."

She took a deep breath, beginning to lose her cool. "He isn't confused now."

Navin opened his mouth to argue, and then shut it. "Do you want to be queen of Alledia?" He asked after another pause.

Emily blinked, her face twisting into a look of concentration. "I don't know," she said. "I'm not opposed to being queen, but I'm not for it either."

"What you're saying is that you don't mind it?"

"Yeah."

He sighed. "Emily, being queen is a big deal, which you already know. You can't just accept a role like that without having some type of goal in mind, or else you'll fail."

"I do have a goal in mind. My goal is to fix up this mess." She sneered. "And I don't need you to tell me what to do."

He protested for a few more seconds, but she cut him short. "Listen, you're commander of the Resistance, right? It's kind of like that, but I'm not alone and it's bigger than the Resistance."

Navin let out a defeated sigh. "Are you seriously considering this?"

"Yes."

"Does mom know?"

"Not yet."

"You need to tell her,"

"I know."

They lapsed into silence again. After a few minutes, Navin broke it. "Queen Emily of Alledia," he said slowly, trying the words out on his tongue. "I like it."

"Technically I won't be the Queen of Alledia," Emily corrected. "Just Lufen and Windsor. Trellis is going to handle Gulfen."

"Ah. That makes a lot more sense."

They gazed up at the stars, lost in their own thoughts.

"What do you think Trellis is doing now?"

"What?" Emily asked.

"What do you think he's doing?"

"Sleeping, probably."

Navin snorted. "Obviously. Do you think he's going to take the throne?"

"Probably. If he does it in the next few days I can't help him." She closed her eyes. "Shame, too. I definitely want to help him reclaim the throne from the awful man."

"You've met Trellis' father?"

"Not really. I've seen him before, but I haven't spoken to him."

"Oh."

"You don't want to meet him. That man belongs in a toolbox." She opened an eye when she felt Navin's confused eyes on her. "When you're older you'll understand."

"Oh." He turned back to look at the sky. "Thanks for talking to me."

"No problem. It's what big sisters are for."

He smiled. "Have you realized that we are probably one of the coolest people out there?"

"What do you mean?"

"For starters, we're in an alternate universe. Secondly, we've led a successful revolution and killed a monarch. Thirdly, I've flown an air ship and you could very well become a queen. Do you know anyone from Earth who could top that?"

"No. Then again, I haven't really expanded my horizons."

"Really? I think I've expanded my horizons enough for a lifetime."

"Don't say that: you're jinxing yourself."

"True. Speaking of Earth, I guess we're not going back, right?"

"I can't, if I want to be Queen of Alledia."

"Yeah. Mom already knows that I want to be a pilot here. But I don't think that she wants to stay here forever. She's too used to Earth to want to stay."

Emily opened her eyes. "Yeah, that's an issue. Maybe she'll move in with me."

Navin snorted. "You want to live with mom for the rest of your life?"

"No. Just until I turn eighteen though. Then she can live with you."

"I don't think that they'll allow her to live at the academy."

"Maybe she'll leave after we both turn eighteen."

"Maybe."

"Probably."

They both knew that was definitely not going to happen.

"Ugh," Navin said after a few seconds."

"What?"

"I'm tired."

"Then go to bed."

"I don't want to."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to get up."

"Too bad." Emily sat up. "I'm not leaving you here on the roof."

"Fine," Navin said, groaning as he sat up as well. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Listening to me. And for the water."

"No problem. Now go to bed."

He sighed dramatically and slid down to the window, landing on the ledge. She followed after him, hopping from the ledge of her window down to the carpet. She stumbled, regaining her balance, and then gestured to the door. "There's the door."

"Yeah, I can see that, genius."

She smirked. "Love you."

"Love you too. G'night."

"Goodnight."

She watched him as he slowly walked out the door, yawning, and then shut it behind him.

 **I think that all fanfictions need to have more stupid sibling arguments in them.**

 **-Lilith**


End file.
